Commercial Director

Director of Commercial – food manufacturing

Location:
Southern Home Counties with travel

A premium branded and contract manufacturing, growth-focused food manufacturer is seeking a Director of Commercial to lead and expand strategically important retail, hospitality and leisure partnerships.

Operating within a lean, high-impact commercial team, this role will serve as the primary in-market lead for major national retail and hospitality accounts. As the most senior commercial leadership individual you will operate from site, and remotely, this position will act as the day-to-day “boots on the ground” representative, building deep customer relationships and driving profitable growth.

This is a high-visibility role with direct influence on strategic account direction, category expansion and long-range planning.

You will take ownership of key retail accounts and work in close partnership with the Retail Vice President to design and execute short- and long-term growth strategies.

Core focus areas include:

Direct commercial leadership and profitable revenue growth

Business growth in both new business and current business

Development and execution of annual sales plans and spending strategies

Category insight and data-driven decision making

Cross-functional alignment across Demand Planning, R&D, Operations and Marketing

Digital campaign leadership to maximise ROI

Forecasting and volume planning

You will act as a trusted category specialist, representing the organisation’s expertise in all current and future categories

Lead day-to-day leadership of all commercial areas

Establish clear goals, business and category direction and growth priorities

Deliver against revenue and margin targets

Collaborate with Innovation on the internal and external new product development process

Leverage syndicated data to generate actionable insight

Maintain a robust opportunity pipeline and provide structured weekly reporting

Collaborate with Demand Planning and Business Development on forecasting accuracy

Coordinate digital activation initiatives across retail and hospitality partners

Ensure on-time, in-spec delivery of R&D samples

Facilitate customer meetings

Lead long-range account strategy and commercial planning

As the commercial leader, you will be:

Degree educated or equivalent

Progressive blue chip experience in consumer packaged goods within retail or hospitality

Direct experience strategic development of the commercial agenda with major national retail and hospitality accounts

Experience of driving change and growth agendas

Proven track record of profitable sales growth

Experience launching new products into large-scale retail environments

Strong financial acumen and commercial negotiation capability

Experience using CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce)

Strong analytical capability using syndicated data platforms

High proficiency in Microsoft Office

Model core values and a strong performance culture

Build accountability and results orientation

Develop team capability and succession

Promote collaboration across functions

Drive continuous improvement and operational discipline

Monitor performance metrics and resolve variances proactively

We are seeking a commercially sharp, relationship-led sales professional with:

Private Label experience would be advantageous but is not essential.

Self-directed and capable of operating with autonomy

Strong relationship builder across internal and external stakeholders

Comfortable operating in fast-paced, evolving environments

Organised and detail-oriented with the ability to manage multiple initiatives

Confident addressing complex or challenging situations constructively

Commercially curious and passionate about the food industry

• Strategic ownership of nationally significant accounts
• High visibility within a lean leadership team
• Direct influence on commercial growth trajectory
• Opportunity to operate at both tactical and strategic levels
• In-market authority with strong executive backing

This opportunity will suit an ambitious, data-driven FMCG Commercial leader who thrives on relationship depth, strategic execution and delivering sustained profitable growth.

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